A maiden three points in the bag for the 2018/19 season, the Jets are on the road once again in the Hyundai A-League.
The boys will jump on a plane and head to Melbourne to take on City, in a match where a win could see the side jump deep into the top six.
It’s been almost ten days since the Jets played, and won, against 2-1 away from home against the Western Sydney Wanderers.
READ: The 18 picked for City
Dimi Petratos was back to his silky best on Friday night, while Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Glen Moss earned a place in the Hyundai A-League Team of the Week for their performances.
Last Friday night was the first time this season the Jets have managed more than a single goal in a game, FFA Cup matches inclusive, and that will imbue the side with confidence ahead of the trip south.
The big prize, of course, is back-to-back wins for the Jets. Another three points for the Jets would provide the perfect springboard into next weekend’s doubleheader at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Sunday night’s opponents are Melbourne City, who come into this match off the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Brisbane Roar last Saturday night.
That match was conspicuous for the absence of talented Uruguayan striker, Bruno Fornaroli but there’s no telling whether or not he’ll miss out once more this weekend.
Just two points above the Jets on the ladder, City will also be chasing what would prove a crucial win at this early stage in order to maintain their spot inside the top six.
Team news
There is a HUGE in this weekend – Johnny Koutroumbis is back in the squad, and a real chance of seeing gametime on Sunday afternoon.
It’s been an incredible recovery from the young fullback, who just six weeks ago underwent treatment for stage one thyroid cancer.
Also back in the squad is midfielder Matt Ridenton, who has been battling with a calf injury which ruled him out of both the Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers matches.
That’ll give boss, Ernie Merrick some food for thought around his midfield pairing with four recognised centre mids in the squad for Sunday afternoon.
In more encouraging news, both Daniel Georgievski and Jair are in the squad for the trip to Melbourne despite picking up knocks last Friday night, and look like they could play a part.
From the boss
“I hope the situation is that one win doesn’t take the pressure off because I want that pressure to be on them all the time,” Merrick said.
“I want that there to be pressure to perform and do what they can do to fulfil their job description. It’s not all about focusing on outcomes, it is about becoming better individually and collectively.
“I just feel we are playing good football and creating opportunities that we are just not putting away.
“We created some good opportunities against the Wanderers but couldn’t put them away, but the good thing is we kept a clean sheet and we defended well when we needed to.
“AAMI Park is a fantastic ground and I’m looking forward to going down there, they’re always very competitive, particularly at home so it will be a good test for us.”
